I hope you have some peppermint candy canes! If you don’t, that should go on your shopping list today. The appearance of candy canes marks the beginning of the Christmas/winter season for many.
[box] Wear a red and white striped piece of clothing today: a shirt, leggings, or socks![/box]
Peppermint Candy Canes
Do you like to taste something sweet, like candy? Do you like the fresh, tingly, taste of peppermint? A red and white striped candy cane is a favorite treat during the weeks leading to Christmas. We hang them on our tree, and think they are fun to stir hot cocoa, or crumble on top of cupcakes. Did you know there is a story of how the first candy canes were thought up by someone who wanted to tell the story of Jesus?
This is the first week of Advent, a time of waiting, looking forward to Christmas Day, the day Jesus was born, and here is a story of how the candy cane was made for you.
Story of the Candy Cane and Its Meaning
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A candy maker, who lived in the state of Indiana, made a stick of white, hard candy from sugar. He wanted it to tell the Christmas story in symbols to make us think of the important things that God wanted us to know. The white candy was to symbolize the Virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, pure and white. It was made into hard candy to symbolize that Jesus was the Solid Rock, and to also show the firmness of the promises of God.
The candymaker curved the candy stick into the form of a “J” to represent the initial of Jesus, who came to earth as the Savior. Looked at the other way it was like the crook of the Good Shepherd, which was used to help rescue the sheep.
Red stripes stood for healing; with one large red stripe symbolizing the blood shed by Jesus on the Cross.
This is how the candymaker was able to share the candy cane message of Christmas.
Even earlier, many hundreds of years ago it is said the a choirmaster chose the stick of candy for his choir, but however the tradition began it still reminds us of Jesus, if we know its secret code of symbols.
Printable story of the Candy Cane PDF
Links:
Peppermint Candy Cane
Big People Section
(Thoughts About Stripes)
The first week of traditional observance centers on the prophecies leading up to the expectation of the Messiah. One of the most important was Isaiah, who foretold of the Messiah in some of our most memorable scriptures. The candy cane recalls [tooltip text=”by His stripes we are healed”] the stripes that paid for our healing[/tooltip]. And there is one that is my favorite for Christmas:
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
What is a Messiah? Do you hope for a hero? Have you given up? Little children love superheroes and they don’t give up hope that their favorite will vanquish the Villains. Put your trust into God, He wants to be your Hero.
Grownups get a false idea that they can be the heroes in their own lives, and then when they fail look for someone to blame. Turn your eyes to Jesus the way children look to you. The simple idea is to understand that our heroes don’t always look like we expect. They don’t always have the powers we value.
Jesus came to show us that truth in no uncertain terms.
Prayer for Today
Father in Heaven,
We love that you surprise us. We are impressed by how you erase the foolish ideas that a hero has to look, dress, or act a certain way. We thank you that you are intent on not just being our hero,but transforming us into heroic and powerful people, too. We can’t wait to see what you do this Christmas season. Amen.
